The Dagger of Thorodan
by AussieWizard
Summary: A plot to kill Uther is brought to Merlin's attention and in order to stop it, Merlin seeks help from an unexpected ally. But what Merlin doesn't know, is that by stopping the plot, he is falling into a trap. Set after 2x13
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! This is my first Merlin fanfic, and I hope you like it! I know that this chapter is really short and, in my opinion, boring, but it's actually really important if you look closely enough! :D

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Merlin, but I would most certainly like to

Enjoy!

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The emerald-green cloak billowed slightly as the mysterious figure led their horse through the thick fog in the forests of the countryside. It was to be a long journey, and if they maintained their current pace, the traveler would not make it to their destination by nightfall as expected. The traveler tugged at the horse's reigns once more and continued on at a faster pace than before. They could not afford to waste any time.

After a while, the fog cleared, revealing an unexpected clearing instead of the expected brush that was most annoyingly common in these woods. The traveler sensed the horse's sudden relaxation of having cleared the fog, and deemed it appropriate to mount for the remainder of the journey. They set off at a canter to cross the clearing as fast as possible.

The sun was the only reminder of the passing time; the reddish tint of twilight had begun to appear by the time the traveler reached the more familiar trees and twisted branches. They pressed on, maneuvering the horse down a twisted path as to avoid the warped roots and branches that reached out to block the way. A branch caught hold of the emerald-green cloak of the traveler and forced the party to halt. After several attempts to free the cloak nicely, the traveler resorted to fiercely ripping the cloak from the branch in order to carry on.

Finally, the traveler ventured out of the forests, and was able to look upon their destination: Camelot. The magnificent ivory castle, tinted red by the light of the falling sun, stood in all its glory; it was as striking as the traveler had remembered it to be. Six months away and it hadn't changed a bit here at Camelot.

The traveler slid gracefully off the horse and took a few steps forward towards the castle. They had arrived; they were finally there. The traveler pushed back the hood that had covered their head, and revealed tresses of shimmering ebony hair, which contrasted greatly with the deathly pale white skin of the traveler.

Morgana stood as still as a statue, reigns in hand, and blankly stared at the kingdom that she called home.

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	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to all those who read/reviewed/alerted the story! It made me really happy :D

This chapter is longer than the previous one (yay!) but i also tend not to write long chapters in general.

But anywho, enjoy the chapter!

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It was almost night, and Merlin was just finishing up his chores for Gaius. Unfortunately, the main task to complete was the cleaning of the leech tank. Merlin had spent the better part of two hours scrubbing at and attempting to clean the leech tank, but had barely made any difference in the top quarter of the tank. He was currently crouched over and was picking at the residue on the very bottom of the tank when a loud banging on the door startled so much that Merlin he crashed the top of his head into the inside of the leech tank. Cursing under his breath, Merlin slowly backed out of the tank, massaging the top of his head as the door burst open and in stormed Prince Arthur Pendragon. Merlin scowled. Of course it would have been Arthur at the door; who else would feel entitled to barge in everywhere they went?

"_Mer_lin," the Prince stood, condescendingly looking at the boy with his hands on his hips, "are you familiar with the custom of answering the door if someone knocks?"

Merlin stared at the prince, the scowl becoming more clearly defined on his face, "You didn't even give me a chance to get to the door!"

Arthur shook his head in mock disappointment. "Speed is something that all competent servants have in Camelot, something more to prove how horrible of a servant you really are, Merlin."

"Then why have I not been sacked by now? Pray tell." Merlin cracked one of his sheepish grins.

"Well, although your cowardliness and sappy sensitivity make me want to gag at times, I can't very well go around teasing and pointing out the faults of everyone in the kingdom now can I? Imagine the reputation I'd get from doing that."

"Yeah, that'd be awful." Merlin stood and walked over to the counter to fetch a washcloth, "Truly awful." he played along.

"Yes, well that's why I haven't sacked your sorry little self yet. _I_ get to insult _you_, and the rest of the kingdom is spared. You're doing a service to Camelot."

"Wow Arthur," Merlin chuckled and wiped his face with the cloth, "I'm truly honored to be the lucky person to carry that burden. I really am."

"You should be."

Merlin proceeded to cleaning his hands as well as he could with the puny washcloth. "So what is it, Arthur? I'm guessing that you're here to order me around, or did you just decide to come over to chat with your lowly servant?"

"Father has called for the court to come to the Great Hall immediately, and I figured that if I have to sit through a court meeting, then I shouldn't be the only one to suffer." Arthur turned and walked out the room.

Merlin groaned and wiped his face again with the washcloth; if he was to be in the presence of the king, he figured that he should look somewhat presentable.

"_Now_, Merlin!" Arthur's impatient voice rang through the hallway and Gaius's chambers.

Knowing he meant business, Merlin threw the washcloth into a basin and raced out of the room.

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Merlin stifled a yawn as he stood in his regular spot in the Great Hall: just off to the side and next to Gaius. Uther had summoned the court to discuss the renewal of a peace treaty with a neighboring kingdom, which was quite a dull topic of conversation, especially to Merlin.

Another yawn began to creep up on the young warlock and this one was stifled with great difficulty. Unfortunately, it caught Gaius's attention, and Merlin received a sharp elbow to his arm.

"Pull yourself together Merlin!" Gaius scolded in a whisper as Merlin rubbed the spot on his arm that Gaius hit. "This is an important meeting."

"Important, yes, but that doesn't mean it's not dull." Merlin whispered back.

Gaius raised his eyebrow to complete his trademark judgmental glare. "You would do well to listen in these meetings Merlin. When Arthur is king, you will be advising him on these matters and more."

"Only if he doesn't decide to chop off my head for being a sorcerer." Merlin retorted in the quietest whisper possible.

"_Warlock_, Merlin, _warlock_; there is a difference. And do you really have that little faith in Arthur? Surely you know by now how different Arthur is from Uther."

"Better to be pessimistic than optimistic." the young warlock joked.

Gaius shook his head in annoyance and turned his attention back to Uther.

"…and send a messenger to King Fendrel immediately. I want his opinion on the matter before the week is out." Uther finished giving orders to his son.

"Yes, father." Arthur replied, "I will send our fastest messenger when he returns tomorrow."

"Good," Uther turned his attention back to the rest of the court, "Now that the renewal of the treaty has been covered, I…"

Uther was cut off as the enormous wooden doors of the main entrance creaked open unexpectedly. As the doors continued to open, all in the room turned to see who had dared to interrupt a court meeting.

The emerald-green cloak that clung to the shoulders of the Lady Morgana was visible to all as she entered the room.

Upon seeing her enter, Uther and Arther's expressions changed to shock, Gaius's eyebrow shot straight through the roof, and Merlin blanched. Morgana stopped at a respectable distance from Uther in the middle of the hall. The King stood and slowly walked towards her.

"Welcome home, my child." His voice came out barely more than a whisper, but somehow everyone in the room seemed to hear him. A rare smile of relief began to form on his face.

None were more surprised than Merlin to see Morgana step without hesitation into Uther's arms and into an embrace.

"Uther," she said with a smile on her face, "I have missed you so much over the past six months. She broke the hug and stared into the man's eyes with genuine care, "I am truly happy to be back. Throughout the past months, I have witnessed magic in a new light, and now I understand why you have spent so many years ridding Camelot of magic. It is, as you said, an evil that has to be stopped. I managed to escape from the witch Morgause and I have returned to Camelot to ask your forgiveness for not understanding."

Uther smiled more broadly this time, "Morgana, you're safe, that's all that matters now. Come, you need some rest after the ordeal you've been through. I'll escort you back to your chambers, and we will dine in an hour."

As Morgana exited the room with Uther, she turned her gaze towards Merlin and their eyes met. For a fraction of a second, Merlin thought he saw a look of cold, unadulterated hatred on the Lady Morgana's face, but she turned away and the look disappeared.

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"Eat up, Merlin." Gaius placed Merlin's dinner in front of the boy. Merlin didn't even acknowledge the food's presence. "Merlin, is there something you would like to talk about?"

"No." Merlin mumbled. Gaius's eyebrow instinctively crept up to its usual position.

"Merlin, please do not insult my intelligence. Since we've come back from the court meeting, you haven't strung together a coherent sentence and you've been sitting in the same spot staring off into the distance. Something is bothering you, and I am almost certain that it has to do with the unexpected arrival of the Lady Morgana."

"Well how do you expect me to react?" Merlin rounded on Gaius. "She was my friend, and I tried to _kill_ her! I honestly don't think she's all that happy to see me. You should have _seen_ the look that she gave me as she left the hall…" his voice drifted away as he recalled the fleeting look in her eyes. "She looked like she was going to kill."

"I don't think she will try to exact revenge, if that's what you are suggesting." Gaius sat down opposite from the young warlock.

"…Why not?"

"I hope I wasn't the only one to notice a significant change in her character tonight."

Merlin picked at his soup with his spoon, seemingly oblivious to the point his mentor was trying to make. Gaius continued on. "Didn't you think Morgana's speech tonight was a bit out of character?"

"What, when she was denouncing magic?"

"Yes, Merlin." Gaius prodded.

"I thought it was weird that she suddenly decided to hate magic, yes, but honestly I was more concerned with if she was going to let Uther in on the fact that I tried to kill her!"

"I see." Gaius gave up; he knew that he would get nowhere with Merlin tonight. True, Morgana had returned, and she seemed a changed woman, but there was something that didn't feel quite right about the whole situation. Why did she suddenly view magic as an evil that had to be stopped? Why had she turned her back on Morgause? What had happened with her animosity towards Uther? And what happened to her in the time that she was gone? These questions and more were running through Gaius's mind as he quietly ate his dinner.

A quiet knocking on the door broke the silence that had ensued during the dinner. Surprisingly, Merlin bolted to the door before Gaius had the chance to stand. He opened the door and a scrawny servant boy stood in the opening.

"The Lady Morgana requires your presence immediately."

Gaius rose from the table. "Of course, I'll just get a sleeping draught –"

"No, Gaius." the servant interrupted, "She doesn't need a sleeping draught. She's sent for Merlin."

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This saturday, I go into tech week for a show, so I probably won't be able to post again until the beginning of August.

Thanks for reading! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys!

I'm REALLY sorry for not updating sooner, but college apps really suck :/

FINALLY SEASON 3 IS HERE! YAYYY. I'm kinda bummed actually because they stole some of my thunder with this story… haha oh well

Anyways, here's the 3rd chapter! And don't worry, I will continue to update; I am _so_ determined to actually finish a story for once in my life, and so I've made this the story to finish.

Enjoy!

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Approximately ten minutes after the message was given, Merlin was standing in front of the door to Morgana's chambers. He really did not want to go inside. What was her meaning for summoning him alone? Merlin's immediate thoughts were veering towards revenge; she wanted to finish him off and she wasn't going to waste any time about it. He would probably have to defend himself with magic. And then she would rat him out to Uther and then… Merlin's head began to hurt from the spiraling thoughts.

His hand knocked on the wooden door. Why did he do that? _Why?_ Why didn't he just walk away when he still had the chance? But even if he did do that, she would find another way to speak to him; he couldn't avoid her forever…

"Come in."

Merlin took a deep breath and opened the door.

At first he saw Guinevere, who was in the middle of fixing up the bed. She gave him a small smile before pointing to where Morgana was located. Merlin followed the direction of Gwen's point to the far side of the room. Morgana was seated before her mirror, her long dark hair cascading down her back. She saw Merlin's reflection in the mirror and stared at it for a few seconds before speaking.

"Leave us, Gwen. That is all for tonight."

Gwen curtseyed and left through the servant's door. Morgana turned around and locked eyes with Merlin. Merlin started racing through spells in his mind that he could use in defense at a moment's notice.

"It's good to see you again; I missed you so much, Merlin." She broke into a smile. "Come, sit" she gestured to the chair beside the bed.

Needless to say, this was hardly the greeting he was expecting from her.

"No, " Merlin responded without thinking. He hastened to add, "…thank you, milady."

Morgana looked quizzically at the boy, "You know there's no need to address me like that. Are you feeling well? Here, have something to drink." She walked over to the table in the center of the room, where a pitcher of water and some glasses were stationed.

Merlin instantly thought back to that horrible day; the day that the Knights of Medhir attacked Camelot and the day that he had poisoned Morgana. He had offered her water, just like Morgana was now. He still remembered that look of horror and betrayal in Morgana's eyes as she realized that Merlin was killing her.

"No." his voice brought him back to the present. "No, I'm fine."

Morgana gave him a piercing look, as if she were reading his mind by looking into his eyes.

"I see there's no fooling you, Merlin."

Merlin didn't respond.

"I know what you must be thinking of me, but I'm not the same person that you knew six months ago. I mean if Uther knew…"

"Knew what? The truth?" the vindictiveness in his voice surprised him.

"I beg your pardon?" she looked affronted, and somewhat shocked.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Merlin, why are you acting this way?"

"Why did you really come back? What have you got planned, Morgana? I know you despise Uther because of how he treats people like…" he paused momentarily to refrain from saying 'us', "…how he treats people like you who have magic…"

"I've told you, Merlin, I'm a different person now…"

"You can't expect me to believe that after six months, you've completely changed your mind about what you are!"

He stopped talking; he knew he had gone too far. The silence hung in the air, but neither person made a move to break it. Merlin's thoughts were whirring away at a million miles per hour. Why had she been so happy to see him? It just wasn't adding up; he was sure that she would have been dead set on making Merlin pay for what he did. Unless…

"What do you remember the day that the Knights of Medhir came to Camelot?" Merlin proceeded with caution.

"I remember we were in the hall, tending to Uther." Morgana began, not taking her eyes off Merlin's, "You were persuading me to have some water and then…" a slight glimmer of resentment flashed in her eyes. "the next thing I remember after that is waking up in a dark castle with Morgause sitting at my bedside."

"Wait, go back to the day you last were in Camelot…"

"I don't remember anything else from that day. When I woke up, Morgause told me that I had been asleep for a few days. She told me that I had been hurt, and the magic she employed to heal me could have had an effect on some of my memories. I guess it did…" Morgana was bitter all of a sudden, "She used _magic_ on me."

She turned away from Merlin, swiftly crossing the room to the window that overlooked the courtyard.

"I remember… I saw _horrible_ things, Merlin, truly horrible things that Morgause did with her magic. She taught me things that I never wish to repeat. I am so disgusted by this magic that I have, and I can never accept that it is a part of me."

"But – "

"No, Merlin." She turned to face him held up her hand to silence him, "that's enough. I'm putting it all behind me now. I'm here now, I'm back home in Camelot and my magic will be forgotten. You are the only one who knows that I had magic and I expect it to be kept that way. I trust you, Merlin."

Merlin couldn't believe what he was hearing; it was almost too good to be true. Had Morgana truly forgotten that he had tried to kill her?

"So you don't remember anything else that day..?"

"No," she stared at him inquisitively. "should I?"

There was a slight pause as Merlin inwardly cursed himself for asking too many questions, for now she was suspicious. He hastily shook his head in response.

"No, no, it's nothing…honestly…" he cracked his trademark grin, and quickly turned towards the door.

"Merlin," Morgana called to him, and he stopped in his footsteps. "Is there something you wish to tell me?"

_Is there something you wish to tell me?_ The question reverberated in his mind. She couldn't know about his secret; Morgause didn't know so therefore Morgana couldn't. Nevertheless, his blood still ran cold when he heard her ask. He whipped around and stared at her cautiously, yet her face revealed nothing. Maybe he was overreacting, but something didn't feel right about the way that she had asked that question.

"No." he replied, "I… I'm just glad that you're back in Camelot."

"As am I, Merlin," she grinned. "as am I."

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"That's it?" Gaius sounded more perplexed and surprised than Merlin had about his encounter with Morgana.

They were eating their dinner at the main table of Gaius's chambers; Merlin had just finished recounting the whole of his meeting with Morgana, but had chosen to leave out the final question that she had asked him. _Is there anything you wish to tell me?_ The question still echoed in Merlin's mind every few minutes or so.

Gaius continued to look incredulously at his stew. "She claims to remember nothing, and instead called you in just to say 'hello'?"

"Yes." Merlin knew that what he had told Gaius was exceedingly puzzling, and had he been on the receiving end of this news, he probably would have reacted the same way.

"This hardly seems like the Morgana we knew six months ago."

"But she doesn't remember anything from that day, and that's good enough for me."

"Merlin," Gaius warned, "be careful. Maybe she has forgotten, but don't be so quick to trust her again."

"Gaius, not another lecture please." Merlin stood and started to make his way to his room.

"Before you leave, Merlin, hear me out. I trust your judgment. But just remember, you always tend to focus on the good in people and overlook their capacity for deceit."

Knowing that Gaius was right, Merlin chose not to respond and instead continued on his way to his room.

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"_No…don't, NO!"_

_He was on his back, struggling against the manacles that held his wrists and ankles to a stone tablet._

_The dagger was held above him, pointed directly at his heart._

_Desperately, he looked around for something, anything that he could use to free himself…but the sword was too far to reach…_

_The knife plunged; he cried out in pain …_

Morgana jolted awake in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. She hadn't had a dream like that in over six months. Her mind was whizzing, but one aspect of the dream kept standing out to her. If she wasn't mistaken, then that dagger was none other than the Dagger of Thorodan. If so, Camelot was in grave danger.

Immediately, she knew exactly to whom she would confide this premonition: Merlin.

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Hope you enjoyed it!

Knowing me, it'll probably be a while before I update again, but I hope it's worth it!


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